The Detroit Lions were a playoff team in 2011, but coaches and players are only focused on beating the St. Louis Rams today. AP File Photo

DETROIT -- The Detroit Lions had a small taste of success last season.

Detroit sat down at the NFL's big boy table in 2011. The Lions were not confined to the small boy table, which is reserved for those non-playoff teams. They were one of six NFC playoff squads. Detroit was in the NFL's postseason tournament to win a Super Bowl championship.

As you know, the New Orleans Saints dashed those dreams in last year's NFC wild-card game.

Detroit will play it regular season opener at home against the St. Louis Rams today. It is safe to say the Lions have some unfinished business to take care of.

Nobody on the team is satisfied with last season's success. Detroit has the potential to make this year's playoffs again. This year should be the next step in Detroit's Super Bowl progression.

It is not that simplistic, according to Lions coach Jim Schwartz.

"Of course we have unfinished business, but none of it has to do with last year," Schwartz said. "Every year you aspire to do the very best you can and advance and play every game you can possibly play. I think last year is what it is. There's not a whole you can do about last year.

"We can't change any of those scores or rewrite that history. The only thing we can worry about is this year. The only thing we can worry about right now is the Rams. This team does a good job of staying in the moment, staying focused on things that matter. Last year doesn't matter."

Last year does matter.

It just has to be put into perspective.

Detroit finished 10-6 during the regular season. It was the Lions' first 10-win season in 16 years, and only the eighth 10-win season since the franchise moved to Detroit in 1934.

In addition, Detroit made its first playoff appearance since 1999 under Schwartz. During the wild-card game, Detroit was defeated, 45-28, by New Orleans.

"We got a new team," Lions receiver Nate Burleson said. "We got a lot of new faces. Our receivers coach Shawn Jefferson said it best. He said regardless of what we did last year, it's on paper right now.

"We can't take stats into a game with us, and most of the teams aren't going to look at us like a team on the rise. They're going to come and attack us, and we got to be ready to battle week in and week out."

"These coaches do a good job of keeping us grounded and making sure the next most important day is the next day," Lions center Dominic Raiola said. "I think that's a credit to them. They harp on that, so it's hard for us to look beyond that day because you don't know what challenge that day is going to present. Just look at our training camp and how many plays we had per practice. It's kind of hard to overlook that.

"They've harped on us every preseason game that the next game is the most important. I think they do a good job of that, and we're kind of callused to that to that mindset."

Detroit will play against the St. Louis Rams today.

It is the start of a new season.

The Lions have unfinished business from last year.

Beating St. Louis will give Detroit its first taste of success in 2012.

"If we beat the Rams, there is no trophy," Schwartz said. "You play next week. Every game is extremely important. I know what the first three games of the year are, because we've done some work in the offseason to get ready for the first three, but this is the God's honest truth, I could not tell you what the fourth game of the year is right now. I have no idea.

"That short-term focus is what keeps you going. We aspire to be a consistent team week-to-week. The way you do that is don't get ahead of yourself. This isn't college football. We don't have the red-letter game where that's the game you're working on when it's the third week of the season. We got to keep our focus. The focus right now is the Rams. The focus a week ago was the Buffalo Bills and training camp. If we can keep focused on those things, and if you work the process well, the end result will take care of itself."